Improvement in revolving fire-arms



C; R.r ALSOP.

Revolver,

Pateued .'Jm. 21, 1862.

N. PETERS. PHOTOMTHOGRAPHER, WASHINTON. D 2v UNrTED Srarns reich.

C. R. ALSOP, OF MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO J. W. ALSOP, OF NEWYORK, N. Y.

Speeiticationforming part of Letters Patent N0. 3&226, dated January 2l,1862.

To all whom tt may concern: d

Be it known that I, CHARLES R. ALsor, et' Middletown, in the county ot'Middlesex andA State of Connecticut, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in that class of Fire-Arms known as Revolvcrsg7 andI do hereby declare lthat thefollowing is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l is alongitudinal section of a pistol with my improvements. Fig. 2 is a topview et' the same, partly in section. Figzisa perspective view ofthehammer and its attached cam for forcing np the cylinder'. Fig. 4 is arear end view ofthe cylinder. Fig. 5 is a front endview of the saine.Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one ofthe gas-rings.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

To enable others skilled in the art to make andLu use my invention, Iwill proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A is the metal frame, of the form generally adopted for the frames ofrevolvers.

B is the barrel.

I C is the cylinder, fitted to revolve on the axispin I) in a well-knownmanner, and having ap plied between it and the-trontof the frame thespring E for forcing it back clear of the barrel preparatory to itsrotary movements.

F is the rotating recoil-shield, having its journal ct tted to a bearingin the cross-piece A ofthe fraaie, having on the rear of said journalthe ratchet-teeth b b, upon which the rotating dog G acts to produce therotation of the cylinder, which is caused to rotate with the shield by apin, c, on the rear of the cylinder entering a recess in the i'ace ofthe shield in a manner common to other revolvers.

H is the hammer, arranged to work upon a pin, d, passing through thestock in the usual manner. I is the cam for f'orcingthe cylinder uptoward the barrel. This cam may be made ot'a separate piece of steel andsecured by screws, rivets, or other suitable means t0 one side of thebutt ofthe hammer, or maybe formed upon and of the same piece of metalwith the hammer itself; or, in the case ot' an outside hammer, it maybeformed upon or secured to the tumbler of the lock, orotherwise securedto the shaft of the hammer, and so attached to the hammer and compelledto move with it. This cam has the greatest portion ot' its circumferencecircular and concentric with its pin d, and has a recess, as shown at e.The

said cam is situated immediately in front'of a xed brace, A2, which iscast with the frame A, and the front of the said brace is hollowed outto form a bearing for the cam, which is t`1tted so easily to lthe pin lthat it may always bear against the said brace. The full diam eter ofthelarger circular portion et' the said cam is such that when interposedbetween the brace and the rounded rear end of th'ejournal a, as it iswhen the hammer is down, the said cam will hold the cylinder so farforward as to canse whichever chamber is in line with the barrel to fitclose np to the rear muzzle ofthe latter. The recess c need only beofsuch depth that when itis presented opposite the rounded` endof-thejournal a it will allow thespring E to force back the cylinder farenough to let it rotate clear ofthe barrel, and said recess is soarranged relatively to the hammer that before the hammer has been movedfar from the nipple toward the position in which it is cocked it bringsthe said recess opposite to theionnded end ot' thejournal, and sopermits the cy1- inder to move back before the action of the cooking-dogon the ratchet-teeth b bcommenees. The fall ofthe hammer bringsthestept'at the commencement ofthe recess into action on the extremity ofthejournal a, and so forces the cylinder up to the barrel before thehammer strikes the nipple. Care should be taken in the construction thatthe axes of the pins D and (l should be in the same plane, that theaction of the cam may be directly in the line of the axis ofthecylinder. This mode of applying the cani is intended moreparticularly-tor small-sized pistols, which are to be cocked by thedirect application ofthe hand to the hammer. The hammer is to have themainspring and trigger applied in the manner common to tire-arms whichare cocked in. that way, and therefore I have not represented thoseparts inthe drawings, but contined myself to the representation of theparts to which my invention relates and the parts necessary to explainit. The rotating dog Gr is arranged to swing upon a fixed pin, f, and isoperated by means of a'pin, g, attached to the cam I.

J J are the gas-rings, differing from those commonly employed in thechambers of revolvers in being out or open longitudinally, as shown at ss in Figs. 5 and 6. They may be made each of a piece of steel platerolled up, or be turned out of a solid piece of steel, and afterward cutlongitudinally, and maybe made so that the edges of the split laptogether in beveled form, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6,`or merely meet eachother. The front portions of the chambers are counterbored to therequisite depth for the reception of these rings, which are crowdedtightly into the so counterbored port-ions, and the rear portion of thebarrel is counterbored for the reception of the front ends of the saidrings, which either protrude from the said chambers or have the frontsof the chambers countersunk around them, as shown at a n in Figs. l and5, for the reception of the rear end of the barrel. These rings, insteadof being simply driven forward toward the barrel by the force of theexplosion of the charges in the chambers, are expanded by such force,and so caused to be pressed laterally against the counter-bores of thecylinder and barrel, and make a more perfect joint than when merelypressed forward.

Ido not here intend to claim broadly the use of au oscillating cam toforce forward the cylinder or breech toward the barrel preparatory tothe iiring ofthe piece; nor do I claim broadly the use of gas-ringsapplied to the cylinder; nor do I claim broadly the construction of thehammer with a cam for the purpose of driving up the chamber against thebarrel by the fall ofthe hammer; but

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The combination ofthe hammer-cam I with the rearward extremity of. theaxis-pin D, in the manner and for the purpose herein shown anddescribed.

CHAS. It. ALSGP. Witnesses:

MARIA W. BARNES, JONATHAN BARNES.

